Improvement in maqhjnes for making fiber



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. P. SUMMERS. Machine for Making Fiber.

Patented April 23, 1878. c J

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L. P. SUMMERS. Machine for Making Fiber.

No. 202,766. Patented April.23, 1878.

sprocket wheel.

LUOIUS P. SUMMERS,

OFFICE.

OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- THIBD HIS RIGHT TO JOHN M.SPRING,

0F SAME PLACE.

srehifi h a ming rent of Lette s Be eh o- 202. 66. dated Apri 2 a pliants fil Ma c 22, 7

. I l w m it may mean;

Be it known that I, LUc'IUs 1 SUMMEQS, of New Britain, in the county ofHartford and State of Connfictiout, have invented cerfonReducingMaterial to Fiber or Threads, of VwhIchthe fo lowing is a specification;

y invention consists of the. peculiar con: struction of mechanism anddevices and in the combination of parts, as hereinafter de. scri In theaccompanying drawing, Figure 1 is aplan view of a-machine embodying myinvention for reducing material to fiber. 2 is a plan view of detachedparts thereof, Fig. 3 is a vertical section of said machine on line 00 wof Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a detached sectional view of the same.

My machine is principally designed for reduoin g palmetto-leaves tofiber or threads i upholstering purposes; but it is,of course, evidentthat any other material may be reduced to fiber upon the same machine.

A designates the frame of the machine, an upper cross-rail of which isrepresented as broken away in Fig, 1, in order to better show the otherparts .At ne end of the fra there are two vertical shafts, carryingwheels B o which he heel 0 n haft t is a A peculiarly constructedendless chain, D, is mounted on the wheels B. C, said chain being formedof jointed links b, each of which bears a rigid arm, 0, lapping over andfolding upon the side of its adjoining link, so that when the chain isdrawn taut the arms 0 are all compactly folded upon the links in thestraight portions of the chain, as shown in Fig. 1; but that in turningaround on the wheels B (l the arms are thrown outward from the links, asalso shown in said Fig. 1, thereby forming a chain with a series ofjaws, which are automatically opened and closed in the act of movingaround on two wheels. It should be noticed that the jaws, when closed,stand longitudinally to the chain, thereby carrying the leaves held bythem edgewise.

The meeting sides of the jaws and links may be grooved longitudinally,to facilitate holding material between them. As is common in supportingendless chains, mechanism of some kind should be provided to enable thewheels to be spread apart more or less for adjusting the tension of thechain. An intclmittent motion is given to the chain D by meanshereinafter described.

E designates the main shaft, provided with a crank, F, connected bymeans of pitman G to the oscillating lever H on shaft K. Upon the end ofthe oscillating lever H is a crossbar, each end of which is providedwith a pair of tongs, the arms at of which tongs carry a series organgof knives, g, and the other arms, e, carrya plain bar, f. The knivesin the gang are all sharpened on their lower edge, and I prefer to placethem with every alternate knife above, and every other alternate knifebelow, said bar, as shown in the drawings. The same pin which pins thearms of the tongs together also pins them to a sliding block, k, fittedto slide in proper ways or guides upon the inside of the post of theframe A. Any ordinary means may be employed to regulate the freedom orfriction of the sliding block h within its ways.

When the lever H moves upward the jaws are thrown open, as shown in Fig.4, and carried upward when thus opened. As the lever begins to descend,the friction of the sliding block holds said block stationary for atime, until the downward motion of the crossbar on lever H throws thearms d 6 together, as shown by full lines in Fig. 3, and holds themtogether in making their downward movement into the position indicatedby broken lines in Fig. 3.

Upon the crank-shaft K there is a crank, L, which actuates areciprocating-bar, M. (See detached view, Fig. 2.) This bar carries aspring -actuated pawl, k, which engages the teeth of ratchet-wheel N andshaft (1, whereby an intermittent rotating motion is imparted to saidshaft and its sprocket-wheel, upon which the chain is mounted. By theside of the shaft a is another vertical shaft, m, Fig. 2, to the upperend of which a swinging shear blade, n, is attached, the same workingagainst a stationary blade, 0, on the main frame and just under the pathof the chain D. Upon thelower end of the shear-shaft m is an actuatingarm, p, the end of which rests in a slot formed in the end of an arm, q,on bar M. The shear-blade n and arm are so attached to the bar M thatthe shears are open when the bar is drawn farthest away from theratchetwheel. By this arrangement the shears are closed when the bar ismoving to get a fresh hold of the ratchet-wheel, and opened when the baris withdrawn, and moves the ratchetwheel, whereby the cutting of theshears will always take place when the chain D is at rest. Passing underthe shears is an endless belt or apron, 0, one end of which is mountedon a suitable driving pulley on shaft P, to which motion may be impartedby suitable pulleys and belt 8, connecting it with the main shaft.

The operation of the machine is as follows, viz: Motion is imparted tothe main shaft in any ordinary manner, thereby giving an intermittentmotion to the chain D. The leaves or material to be reduced are placedwith their upper ends in the open jaws of the chain, and held by handuntil the jaws close upon and hold them suspended from the chain. Theframe of the machine is so shaped or cut away as to allow them to passby unobstructed. When the leaves reach the tongs and stop, the knives gand barf open and pass upward, one on each side of the leaves. to nearthe upper end of the same. Upon the descent of the tongs, they cometogether and force the knives through the leaves, the bar f holding theleaves in contact therewith, and the knives stripping the leaf intothreads in making its descent. In rising again, they open so as to clearthe leaf, the chain is fed along, and a new leaf comes into position tobe stripped by the next downward movement of the knives, while the leafbefore stripped may be combed in a new place, and so on until the leaffirst put in has passed all the knives. The last few in the series maybe set closer together than the rest, so as to reduce the leaves tothreads as fine as may be desired. The leaves, after passing the knives,come in between the shears, which, by means before described, cut thereduced fiber from the stubs and let it fall on the endless apron O,which brings it to the other side of the machine. A pivotedpresserroller, R, rests upon the endless belt, to compress the fiber, sothat it may be twisted as it leaves the apron, if desired.

I claim as my invention- 1. The endless chain D, formed of links b andarms 0, operating to close upon each other, with their meeting faces ina longitudinal direction to the straight parts of the chain,substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

2. The series of knives g and barf, in combination with tongs orequivalent operating mechanism, substantially as described, whereby saidbars and knives are held apart in making their upward movement, andtogether in making their downward movement.

3. The endless chain D, having jaws which open and close automaticallyby the movement of the chain, in combination with the series of knives gand bar f and their operating mechanism, substantially as described, andfor the purpose specified.

4. The arms d and e, carrying knives g and bar f, in combination withthe sliding block h, to which arms d e are pivoted, said block beingfitted in suitable ways, and the oscillating lever H, with crossarmconnected to the arms of the tongs, substantially as described, and forthe purpose specified.

5. The endless chain D, having jaws which open and close automatically,in combination with knives g, bar f. shears n 0, and mechanism foroperating the foregoing parts, substantially as described, and for thepurpose specified.

6. The combination of the endless chain D, carrying holding-jaws,sprocket-wheel C, shaft a, ratchet-wheel N, reciprocating bar M,carrying spring-pawl k, and shear blade a, connected to the bar M, allsubstantially as described, whereby the shears and chain are 0perated bymeans of a single bar to cut when the chain is at rest.

7. The combination of jaws, carrying the material to be reduced with anintermittent motion, the series of knives operating to reduce saidmaterial, the shears n o, and endless apron O, all provided withsuitable operating mechanism, substantially as described, and for thepurpose specified.

LUOIUS P. SUMMERS.

Witnesses:

JAMES SHEPARD, P. J. MARKLEY.

